A Visit to Animal Kingdom

 

The Tree of Life, the park icon of Animal Kingdom, has more than 300 animal carvings. 

The third park we visited on our Disney World vacation was Animal Kingdom. If you love nature, animals, unique food, and thrill rides, you'll love this Disney Park. Here you can go on a safari ride, speed through the Himalayas on a runaway train, immersive yourself in the world of Avatar, see characters from the movie Up, explore wilderness trails that get you up close and personal with animals, enjoy shows such as Lion King and Finding Nemo, and much more! 

We only did a small portion of these attractions and will definitely have to go back someday and do more! With over 500 acres to explore, it's a lot to see! We didn't rope drop any of our park days, and since we didn't get any early starts, we didn't do as many attractions as we'd hoped. But for me, my favorite thing to do at the Disney Parks is walk around with my camera, capturing the moments, the vibes, and taking in the magic around me. 

Although it was packed during our visit because of President's Day week, Animal Kingdom is so serene, full of nature, and just good feelings all around. We got really lucky since the day we visited, the park stayed open until 8 pm, two hours later than usual. We took a break in the late afternoon and went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. 

The first thing my sons and I did was get in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris. The wait was an hour, pretty long, but also nice waiting outside in the warm FL weather among all of the different types of trees. We loved the safari ride! The cast member driving did such a good job explaining everything and pointing out all of the animals. Our faves were the giraffes, so fun to drive right by them! We also liked seeing the elephant and the baby elephant, so cute! Since Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, their conservation focus has been on saving animals for the future generations.  

Then it was time for a snack at Tamu Tamu Refreshments. We all shared a Dole Whip Pineapple Orange Soda Float. This Disney snack was so refreshing! My sons also shared some popcorn from a nearby cart.

For lunch we ate at Flame Tree BBQ. This quick serve spot features smokehouse meat and chicken, along with a variety of sides. I chose the Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Pulled Pork. This baked Mac and Cheese was topped with crispy onions, smoked pulled pork, and coleslaw. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip. I loved how unique the dish was, and it tasted as amazing as it sounds! 

For dessert we shared a Flamingo Cupcake. This was a strawberry cake with strawberry compote filling, a guava buttercream, pink crispy pearls, and topped with a sugar flamingo and white chocolate wings! We loved this dessert, from the sweet and fruity flavors to the neat presentation. 

They also have cocktails at this spot, so I chose a Bubbling Pink Lagoon with Vodka. This drink has strawberry lemonade, sprite, and kiwi along with Svedka Vodka. It tasted wonderful, especially paired with my mac and cheese while eating outside under a blanket of trees, while exotic birds chirped and watched us eat. My son enjoyed a hot dog, and my other son had Mac and Cheese. 

Right after lunch, we saw Kevin walking around! This is the bird from the Up movie. We also saw the dog Doug, and the boy Russel.

Then we entered Dinoland USA which is planning on closing this year to make room for a new land. We rode the Dinasaur ride and found it pretty thrilling!

Then we took a break at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. We enjoyed dinner at Saana, which I'll be showing in my next post. Then we rode the bus back to the park. By then, everyone was leaving, and we almost had the park to ourselves! I couldn't wait to ride Expedition Everest, but the lines were at 90 minutes all day. But before the park closed? 20 minutes! I rode it and had the time of my life. This was my favorite moment of the whole trip for me, and I simply loved this rollercoaster! 

The line for Everest was a good one, especially at night! 

This is the photo I took of the Exhibition Everest ride in the distance. After riding Everest, we walked over to the World of Pandora. It was really dark by then and hard to see the attractions. This area looked awesome though and I would have loved to spend more time there. The Avatar ride is supposed to be unbelievable. 

The last thing we did was watch the Nighttime Projection Show on the Tree of Life. It was so magical and memorable! Animal Kingdom is a special park, and I'm so happy we visited!